Kenya Power has delayed 16,588 power connection projects, dealing a blow to consumers who had paid billions of shillings to the utility firm for electricity supply.

A new audit shows that while customers had paid Kenya Power Sh12.7 billion to be connected to the national grid by June last year, 12,995 projects valued Sh1.24 billion had not started, while 3,593 projects valued Sh1.9 billion were behind schedule.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.

Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu revealed the connection delays in her report on the company for the year ending June 2025.

“Review of a list of the works revealed that 7,740 projects with a total customer capital contribution of Sh877,821,276 were yet to start, thus denying the customers electricity supply as well as revenue to the company,” Ms Gathungu pointed out.

The audit also notes that 5,255 other projects with capital contributions of Sh366.7 million paid between the past one to six years had not started by the end of June last year.

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The delays in starting the projects despite taking money from Kenyans violate Kenya Power’s customer charter, which provides that the utility firm shall connect customers to electricity between seven and 28 days.

The audit also revealed that some 3,427 projects valued at Sh963 million were behind schedule despite been under implementation for up to 29 years. Kenya Power has so far spent Sh564.6 million on the projects, Ms Gathungu said.

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“Management attributed the delays in completion of projects to non-availability of materials, way leaves acquisition challenges leading to re-design, abandonment of projects by customers, premises not ready for connections, and customer requests for refunds or transfers to other sites,” the Auditor-General said.

The Sh12.724 billion power projects for which Kenyans have already paid are part of the Sh23.46 billion works listed as being in progress.

Of the projects Kenyans have paid for electricity connections, the audit has flagged a quarter of them (on value basis), for being behind schedule or having not started. The projects include 166 of them valued at Sh937.9 million that have been outstanding for up to 13 years.

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“The Company lacked regular progress monitoring, root cause analysis for delays, and corrective action plans. Management indicated that the projects are at different levels of execution and delays are occasioned by the intermittent supply of equipment due to long lead times for some equipment like transformers and switch gears,” Ms Gathungu said.

The public auditor reckons that by delaying the projects, Kenya Power is losing value for the cash already invested and jeopardising its objectives.

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pmburu@ke.nationmedia.com